Tap Water Quality
In the United States the government has established a drinking water standard for palatability of 500 mg/liter (PPM). Once the water reaches 1,500 ppm it is considered to be brackish.
At the flea market last weekend I saw this total dissolved solids meter. The guy sold it to me for $2. It works fine. I had used the exact same brand and type of meter during my professional career, but I downloaded the user manual anyway. It had instructions for calibrating the meter.
I happen to have on hand some demineralized water which I had bought in Europe for my steam iron before I moved back to El Paso. I also own a very accurate balance type lab scale which I had bought at another flea market a few years ago. With these items I made up a standard solution of 3,000 ppm TDS water, which I used to calibrate the meter.
I was aware that our tap water is rather high is dissolved solids, but this was my first opportunity to accurately measure the TDS. The Results: No wonder this water leaves salt stains on my stainless steel sink if little drops of water are not wiped up and are left to dry out. The tap water here measures 500 ppm TDS. Very safe, legal, and drinkable, but near the upper limits of dissolved minerals.
Wiki Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_dissolved_solids
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At the flea market last weekend I saw this total dissolved solids meter. The guy sold it to me for $2. It works fine. I had used the exact same brand and type of meter during my professional career, but I downloaded the user manual anyway. It had instructions for calibrating the meter.
I happen to have on hand some demineralized water which I had bought in Europe for my steam iron before I moved back to El Paso. I also own a very accurate balance type lab scale which I had bought at another flea market a few years ago. With these items I made up a standard solution of 3,000 ppm TDS water, which I used to calibrate the meter.
I was aware that our tap water is rather high is dissolved solids, but this was my first opportunity to accurately measure the TDS. The Results: No wonder this water leaves salt stains on my stainless steel sink if little drops of water are not wiped up and are left to dry out. The tap water here measures 500 ppm TDS. Very safe, legal, and drinkable, but near the upper limits of dissolved minerals.
Wiki Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_dissolved_solids
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